Learn to Fly
by xStaticxTelevisionx
Summary: A small spin-off of An Old Role. Don't worry, I know it doesn't really fit with the story, so I'm not going to make this a part of it, however if you guys like it, that can definitely change. :3 So it would appear that Alice's husband thinks that the young dragon needs to fly...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! I know it's not a new chapter, but I promised my friend I would write this for her. This is in the same fan-universe as An Old Role, but I'm not sure I'm going to make this a part of that story. This is more like just a cute little side-thought. :3 R&amp;R!**

**-Static**

**/*\**

As the little girl looked down over the mountain cliff, she couldn't help but to feel a little bit afraid. Sure, she had wings, but that didn't mean she knew how to use them.

_Though_, the five-year-old thought to herself, _That is the reason Daddy brought me here._

The girl's father had taken her up to one of the tallest peaks of the mountain territory. It was cold, even for her, and there was almost five feet of snow on what little stable ground there was. She held onto her dad tightly, her arms winding around his neck, her tail curling around his arm. She was not okay with the prospect of falling.

As much as the child wanted to learn how to fly, she would have felt a lot more comfortable if someone else had been there. She knew that this was how mommy had learned, but at the same time... if something went wrong, she wanted someone to be able to catch her. As amazing as her father was...he didn't have wings. That was something she had inherited from her mother.

She looked up at her father skeptically,

"Daddy," she said slowly, "Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?" And as she narrowed her eyes at the man holding her over the snow, he merely laughed,

"Absolutely! If your mother could do it, then so can you!"

"Yeah, but wasn't mom a lot older than me when she learned to fly?" He cleared away some of the snow, shoving it over the cliff and bent down. He set her on the ground, and smiled at her,

"She was, but you forget, your mother was seventeen when she became a dragon, you have been one your whole life." The girl stared up at him, troubled, her wide red eyes glistening with fright.

"But aren't I only half a dragon?" She questioned. Her father tilted his head to the side,

"What do you mean?"

"Well," she continued, "My tutor was explaining to me what happens when a human marries an animal. Like the Robinson's, she told me that their kids are only _half_ rabbits, because their mother is human. You're human. Wouldn't that only make me half dragon?"

"Hmm..." her father mused, "I suppose, technically, you are half dragon, however," he answered, "The Robinson children still have rabbit ears and tails. They are just as strong and fast as any other rabbit right?" She nodded her head,

"I guess you're right..." But the girl still sounded quite uncertain. Her father smiled again reassuringly.

"Don't worry. You will fly. It's instinctual." he told her, complete and utter certainty ringing in his words. "Go on, jump!" As always, the mans enthusiasm was contagious. In a moment of bravery, she inched towards the edge, and hesitated,

"What if it doesn't work?" She asked. Daddy picked her up, and held her close for a moment.

"Ari," he started, "It's gonna be fine." He murmured, then he kissed her hair, and threw her off the cliff.

/*\

When Alice had taken her husband and child to the deepest part of the mountains with her, she was a little worried about what they might get up to. Her daughter was far more mature and thought things through much better than her father, but she was still the child. As much as she loved her husband, he was not exactly the smartest person she'd ever met. Her daughter could keep him out of trouble most of the time, but things still happened.

"Well, that's three hundred and twenty three swords." Pierce stated, breaking her out of her thoughts, "All of them are here." The Dormouse was relieved, thankful that his list was finally complete. Alice bristled, three hundred and twenty three? That wasn't right. There should have been one more, and as she gazed around her cave, eyes not missing a single coin or jewel or ornament, she was caught with the realization that the sword had indeed disappeared. Alice circled on her assistant. How could this have happened?!

"No," She retorted, "There were three hundred and twenty four. _A piece of my treasure is missing._" Someone had stolen one of her weapons.

Who would dare steal from a dragon's treasure horde?

However, right now that did not matter. As she was attempting to quell the instinct that told her to find whoever had stolen the solid gold blade, she heard screaming.

It was Ari.

/*\

Ari was terrified. She was falling too fast, if she hit the ground she would not survive. She'd been explicitly told to be careful. Her dad had explained to her that she took after her mother in a way that she didn't completely understand, but she knew this: Unlike the other residents of Wonderland, she would not be subject to reincarnation.

If she died, that was it.

She tried to remember what Daddy had told her when walking the trail up to the cliff, what she needed to do with her wings. She was capable of flying, she just had to figure out how to do it. She squinted her eyes shut, and tried as hard as she could to suppress her terror and think of a solution, but nothing came to her. It was no use, Ari was too scared. She knew that no one was there to save her, and as she watched the jagged stones of the cliff pass by her face faster and faster, the panic set in and grew.

Eventually, she started screaming, and looked up, tears streaming down her face. As she gazed up at the purple-tinted sky, only one thought passed through her mind.

_Hey,_ she wondered, _When did it change to Aunt Vivi's favorite time of day?_

And then suddenly she wasn't falling anymore.

/*\

"_How could you?!_" Alice snarled at her husband. After she had teleported to her daughter in the midst of a very deep fall and wrapped the girl in her arms, she had brought the child back to the treasure cave. The danger, having passed, the woman held her daughter close, cooing at and consoling her, telling her that everything was okay and she was safe. Ari was shaking very hard, tear stains running down her face, reluctant to release her mother for a good ten minutes before she finally allowed Alice to set her down, having gotten through her complete and utter terror from the fall.

When Ari had stopped sniffling, Alice sent her to her room to sleep off the scare with her favorite stuffed animal. Clutching the little cat toy - a present from Boris - she padded away to her bedroom, hanging her head dejectedly. Once Alice heard the door close, she teleported to the top of the cliff, grabbed her spouse by the ear, and brought him back to the cave as well, though she made sure they were a good distance away from Ari's space.

It would not do to allow the little girl to hear this.

"She needed to learn how to fly." He stated simply, leaning against a pile of gold coins, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Did it not occur to you that maybe you should have brought someone who actually _could_ fly?!" She screeched, nearing hysterics,

"Alice, I don't see why you're so upset." And to that she quieted, though but for a moment.

"You really don't understand why I'm angry?" She questioned, her voice becoming dangerously low. Her husband, oblivious to his precarious position as always, shook his head, genuine confusion coloring his expression.

"I really don't." And that was what set her off.

"I am angry because you saw it fit to _THROW OUR BABY OFF THE GODDAMN MOUNTAIN ACE!_" She screeched, barely able to hold on to her human form.

She desperately wanted to shift into her thirty-foot-tall dragon self. It was a terrifying appearance, and it was one of the only times that the Knave of Hearts seemed to be able to fully comprehend her words, but she digressed. If Alice shifted now, then Ari would sense it an definitely know that something was amiss, but she had to do _something_. So she decided to whirl on her idiot husband and go check on her daughter.

"I read that book you gave me!" He yelled at her back as she stormed away, "It's instinctual!" But Alice wasn't listening, "I just wanted to help." He mumbled, knowing there was no listener.

/*\

When Alice poked her head into the little girls' room, she found her baby completely buried under her blankets. Giggling, Alice crept up and carefully removed the covers to look at her child's sleeping face. There was just one problem.

Ari wasn't there.

/*\

Ari was feeling quite irritated with herself. She was a _dragon_! Of course she could fly. As the girl neared the edge of the cliff of her own volition, she spread her silvery wings as wide as they could go, and gave them a couple of experimental flaps. She was surprised to find that just one powerful swoop brought her a good five feet off the ground, but she fell as soon as her wings stopped moving.

_Alright,_ she thought to herself, _I can handle this. I'm a dragon, I'm the fiercest creature known to human and animal kind alike! I can do this. I am not weak. Mommy doesn't have to be upset._ As long as she remembered to keep moving her wings, she would be absolutely fine.

Feeling more and more confident in her abilities, Ari backed away from the cliff, and crouched into a runners starting position.

"Alright Ari," She muttered, "You can do this." And with what could only be described as a tiny battle cry, she launched herself off the cliff as her mother screamed for her to stop.

/*\

"Oh my God!" Alice screeched, running to follow the child off the cliff, but was stopped when Ace - exhibiting an unusual amount of strength - grabbed her arm and held her back. When Alice had discovered that Ari had gone missing, she'd raced back into the treasure cave and informed her husband of the situation. Even he was not so imbecile as to think that Ari should be wandering around the cliffs alone outside.

They had already determined that she could not fly.

"What are you doing?!" she yelled into her husband's face, and he just wrapped his arms around her waist. Ace had a feeling that they needed to wait. It was just a gut feeling. There was no rhyme or reason as to why he thought this time would be different but...Alice could teleport. She could catch Ari at any moment. If they just waited a few seconds and saw what happened...

"Give her a minute." He murmured into her shoulder, lightly kissing the skin, hoping that it might calm his wife down just a bit. No such luck. She struggled to escape his grasp without hurting him, but it was taking longer than she thought. Finally she panicked, and threw him off with her tail.

"Ari!" She shrieked, racing to the cliff, but was then confronted with the sight of...her daughter.

Flying.

Ari was flying.

Alice couldn't stop the smile working it's way across her face. Ari was flying. Ari. Was. _Flying._

The little girl's wings flapped a little more than needed, and she was bobbing up and down far too dramatically. Her tail was lashing, trying to keep balance and almost succeeding, but she was staying airborne. She clutched onto her cat toy she smiled at her mother triumphantly.

"Mommy, I'm flying!" She squeaked gleefully.

"I told you she could do it." Ace squawked, pulling himself up off the ground after his wife had mercilessly thrown him into the cliff face with her monstrous tail.

/*\

Although it had all ended well, Ace had still been kicked out of his bedroom. Alice was still enraged, and it had appeared that Ari had heard their conversation. She'd escaped her bedroom when no one had been paying attention and mad her her way to the cliff.

She had been under the impression that her mother thought she was weak.

Ace took his pillow and blanket to the cave's lounge, and made himself comfortable on the couch. That had been a major downside for him, going so deep into the mountains. Alice and Ari were invulnerable to the freezing temperatures of the Northern territory. They couldn't feel the wintry cold of the wind whipping across their faces. They weren't in danger of frostbite almost every time they left the treasure caves. They didn't need to pile layer upon layer of clothing onto their person in order to stay alive.

And now he'd been thrown out of his bedroom. His wife had been a source of great warmth. Being a dragon, her body temperature was a little higher than his, and so after spending a long day out in the cold, her tiny body curled up against his was like putting his hands over the heater. Warm, comfortable, and incredibly soothing, and though the caves were not as awful as the outside, he was quite irked to have to spend the night shivering under a blanket rather than in _his_ bed with _his_ wife.

These were the thoughts crossing through his mind as he drifted off. He'd lit the fireplace, increasing the temperature of the room by a few degrees, but even as he got more and more warm and comfortable, he was still annoyed.

/*\

When Ari had woken in the middle of the night in need of a glass of water, she heard a light sneeze come from the den. Curious, she had crept into the room as silent as her mother. Being a predator, she could be as quiet as could be, with minimal effort. Gazing up at the figure on the sofa, puzzled, she saw her father shivering under the blanket, as the fire had gone out.

Lightly, she reached up, and poked her daddy's arm, then darted away. For some reason, Daddy sometimes had really bad dreams, and she had learned the hard way that sometimes, he swung first and asked questions later when he was asleep.

Ace sprung up, and looked around. He could have sworn-

"Daddy?" a small voice asked, more than a little confused, "Why are you sleeping out here? You should be with Mommy."

Ace was still quite annoyed with Alice, but he would never, ever lose his temper with Ari. The life he had created with the Foreigner...he had promised himself that this one person would never know what a terrible human being he really was. She looked just like her mother, wide eyes, pale skin, round face, small nose...had she not inherited Ace's brown hair and red eyes, her parentage would be completely up for grabs by anyone who'd ever held an interest in the Jabberwocky. Ace wanted to growl at the thought, but right now Ari was more important.

"Mommy and I had a small disagreement is all." He reassured her, "Don't worry about it, go back to bed." he ruffled her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"She got mad at you for throwing me off the cliff." Ace was startled, "I heard you guys talking about it, which is why I decided to do it myself. Mommy got scared, and I didn't like it. So I needed to show her that she didn't need to be scared." Ari sounded as if she had given the situation a great deal of thought. "But to be fair, I'm kind of mad at you too." And she puffed her chest out, attempting to appear threatening so as to convey her displeasure. She only succeeded in making herself look more adorable.

"What?" Ace asked, more than a little amused,

"I didn't know if I could fly, and you just dumped me off the mountain!" She flared, a few tiny blue sparks flying from her mouth, "I could have died!" And that four-word-sequence made Ace pause. That was true. Had Alice not arrived when she did, Ari would not be here right now, because she'd been too overwhelmed for her instincts to properly kick in.

"You're right," he said, "You could have died. I'm sorry." And he pulled the little girl close, which confused her. Daddy was great of course, but he wasn't one for apologies, not even to Mommy. She thought she'd heard those words come from him maybe once. Then Daddy sneezed again, and she caught an icky scent.

Daddy was sick.

"You have a cold!" She squeaked, and then she jumped up and crawled onto Ace's chest.

"Oof!" He breathed, feeling the little girl's weight a little too fast, "Ari, what are you doing?" and she scowled at him,

"I'm keeping you warm! If you're sick you can't be cold!"

"But what if I get you sick?" Ari huffed, her face adorning a prideful expression that the man saw all too often on her mother's face.

"I'm a dragon," she declared, "I don't get sick." Ace laughed,

"If you say so."

/*\

When Alice woke up in several time periods, she made her way to apologize to Ace. While she and Ari had been fine, the environment had been much harsher on him and Pierce. It had been petty to deny him the warmth of their bedroom, and she was going to apologize when she found him passed out on the sofa, Ari curled into his side.

Alice only felt worse. Ace loved Ari more than anything. She knew he'd meant no harm. He wanted nothing more than to participate as much as he could in her life, however due to the fact that Ace was human and their daughter was not... Alice's thoughts were broken when a voice sounded. Ari had woken, and as she sat up she spoke.

"Mommy?" She slurred, her eyes bleary as she blinked a few times, "Daddy got sick. He was really cold, so I stayed out here with him." And then she sneezed, a small puff of blue fire spouting from her mouth, and waking her father. She shrieked in surprise at the sudden appearance of the flame, and Ace laughed.

"That was a loud sneeze," He commented, "So dragons don't get sick, huh?" He gently teased, ruffling her hair.

Needless to say, Alice had definitely not been expecting to be nursing a sick husband and child for the remainder of her stay at the treasure horde.

**/*\**

**My friend is a die-hard shipper of AcexAlice. Particularly, AcexJabberwocky!Alice. So I wrote this just for her! However, I really wouldn't object to getting reviews. *hint hint* *HINT HINT* XD :3 **

**-Static**


	2. Chapter 2

**My friend really loved this, so I promised her one more chapter. No more after this though. :P**

**-Static**

**/*\**

Alice warped to the clearing, the flames brighter than usual. This time, though she was still excited, she was also very, very scared.

She had been getting sick all week. For seven days straight, she'd been throwing up heavily from the moment she woke up. It was a wonder that the pure-white carpet and sheets of her bedroom hadn't been destroyed. After the first few days she had gotten a little worried - she had been given to understand that dragons did not fall ill in the same manner as humans - and visited the doctor.

She'd been completely floored by what he told her.

"Congratulations, Madam Jabberwocky. You're going to be a mother."

Alice hadn't even thought herself capable of having children. She hadn't gotten her period since she took the role. From what she had been told back home, by her mother and sister, the bleeding signified she was of an age where she was capable of having a baby. When it stopped, she assumed that had no longer been the case, but...

Apparently she'd been wrong, and now she was facing the consequence.

Her seeming barrenness had been the reason she had come to agree to be so careless with him. They weren't even married yet.

She had no idea how he would react.

/*\

Alice had sat herself down on the log that they so often met at. The sky was as blue as her favorite dress, not a cloud blemishing the smooth color. The mountains glimmered white over the noonday sun, and the icicles on the bare trees glimmered like prisms. She turned her attention to the frost-covered meadow, and the light reflecting off of it.

_Will it like the snow?_ She idly wondered, _Maybe it will detest the cold. Or maybe it will be like me, unable to feel the temperatures._

Then she heard the light crunching of footsteps on thinned ice, and she looked up to see her lover.

She hoped he would still love her.

"Ace!" She exclaimed, she hadn't realized he'd gotten so close, and that surprised her. She could hear people approaching from a mile away. Had she really been that preoccupied?

"Hey, Alice!" he answered, "How's it going? What happened at the doctor's?"

They had been together for almost a year at this point, and they saw each other almost every day. He had known that she'd been sick every morning waking up, and though he would never admit it, he'd been getting a little worried. Even when she had been human, Alice had never even come down with a cold. Getting sick for seven days straight...even he knew that was not a good sign. The fact that she hadn't known he'd been there up until the last few feet, that deepened his concern.

"Well," She stated slowly, standing up, "It's not a virus." Then she stopped speaking, and she was playing with her fingers and chewing on her lips. This made Ace frown. Her behavior was puzzling. She hadn't looked this nervous since he'd shoved his shotgun in her face, so very long ago...

He'd proven that he no longer had any intention of harming her, in any way. Time and again he would kill rebels for her (even when she protested she could take care of them herself) and he took great consideration to be gentle each and every time he touched her. He even performed his duties for her, when he had always been adamant that rebelling against the Role was the only fight worth fighting. She had no reason to be afraid, not anymore, so why was she scared of him now?

"...So what is it?" He asked softly. He had no clue what was happening. Was she sick with something else? Was it serious?

"Well," she repeated, looking up at him, her eyes meeting his. Her pupils were starting to narrow. That definitely wasn't good. Then a thought popped into his head.

"Alice are you..." he interrupted, "Okay?" He had an idea of what was going on, and he didn't like it. Not one bit. He refused to even acknowledge the word.

The look in her eyes only heightened his suspicion. She could not expect him to take this. For the longest time she had told him that it would only ever be him, and no one else, and for him it had been the same.

If he was correct in his assumption...she would be taken away from him forever. What would he do then?

No. This could not be happening.

"Here's the thing Ace," she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then she met his gaze once more, "I'm-"

"No!" he snapped, grabbing her shoulders. "No, don't say it. I don't accept it. You can't demand that I be okay with this."

No words could describe the devastation she felt right then. He'd understood what she was implying, and now...

Would he demand she get rid of it?

The idea horrified her.

"...You...aren't okay with this?" She asked, still unable to comprehend the meaning behind his words. He released her shoulders and threw his hands down, backing away a few steps. Now he looked angry. Really? She was going to vanish forever, and he was just supposed to say, "Alright."?!

"How could you expect me to be?! Once it happens-" He broke off. He didn't even want to think about the results of this horrifying revelation. "Maybe the doctor was wrong," he stated hopefully, "We could go to the doctors at Heart Castle-" and then she blew up.

"HE'S NOT WRONG, ACE!" She screamed, "I know! I can feel it and all the symptoms I've been having are correct. This is happening whether you like it or not."

Alice was heartbroken. He had always told her he'd love her no matter what, that even though he'd felt nothing for her once she'd first arrived, he had started longing for her presence when she became the Dragon. That initial want for understanding and companionship had morphed into something else, and she had wanted that something else...she had wanted it more than anything...

And now he was taking it away from her.

He'd broken his promise, and now she was wondering how she would ever recover from this emotional trauma.

Ace had remained silent, doing nothing but glare at her.

"You would ask me to get rid of it?" She squeaked, her voice cracking on the last syllable. She wouldn't do it. Even if it meant he would leave her, she would not do that. The life currently growing inside her had absolutely nothing to do with this situation. It hadn't asked to be there, and so it was more than unfair to penalize it for her mistake. She would not put it up for adoption, she would keep it, and if he hated her for it...So be it.

At this point, Ace's anger had dimmed down into confusion. What was she talking about? If she could just get rid of the illness, then wouldn't she have done so already? Why would she willingly... It made no sense in the context of his thinking. Could he have...had he actually missed what she was saying?

She observed the change in his expression warily. He didn't seem upset anymore but...he'd been able to fool her before.

"Alice," he stated, "Are we talking about the same thing here?" She glared up at him,

"You want me to get rid of the baby." she growled, and then she started shaking her head, "I won't do it. No matter what you say or do-" Her voice had stared to gain volume when Ace had raised his hand up and spoke over her,

"Wait!" He'd snapped, then softer, "You're...pregnant?"

Had he really not understood?!

"Yes!" she'd exclaimed, annoyed, "I was going to tell you before you so rudely interrupted and said..." Tears started flowing down her face, "Before you interrupted and said you won't accept it."

Oh sh*t. Now she was crying. He really had jumped to conclusions.

"Alice," He'd started hesitantly, before he stepped up and wrapped his arms around her, her hands covering her face as she tried to repress her sobs. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I thought you were saying something else."

"And what," she hiccuped, "Did you think I was saying, you moron?" The insult did not sound sincere, but even Ace knew he probably shouldn't push his luck right now.

"I thought you were going to say that you were dying." He mumbled into her hair, and she let out a soft, somewhat relieved laugh before lightly hitting him in the chest.

"Idiot." She snarled, before sighing and leaning into him. "So," she started again, "Now that you know I'm not actually dying, what do you think?" He said nothing for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"I don't know. I thought you said you were barren, so I never thought to expect this. Give me a second." He stated, and then mulled the thought over.

Alright, so Alice was pregnant, and to his knowledge, he was the only man she had ever been intimate with.

"I assume it's mine?" He questioned, and he got a real slap for that,

"What kind of person do you take me for?!" She had growled, "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not actually a wh***. _Of course it's yours!_"

"I was just reiterating!" He'd defended, holding a hand up to the forming bruise. She was still bristling, but made no more violent moves against him, and Ace looked at her. _Really_ looked at her.

This woman - this beautiful, powerful, gorgeous woman who could have any man she desired - in nine months, was going to give him a baby. A baby that probably wouldn't be human, as animal genes were dominant. He was going to have a child, a dragon child, and he was concerned.

Dragons were exceedingly rare. They only lived in the far territories where there were no Role-Holders, - Alice was the only one he'd ever met, and she had started out human - and so he had no idea how he might go about parenting one. They didn't even age the same. Ace could keep himself looking as young as he'd like by turning back his clock - all Role-Holders could do it - but once a dragon stopped growing, it would only age a year for each thousand that pass. Then there was the matter of the rebels and the lower gangs. They all wanted Alice dead, because she was the Jabberwocky, and he wasn't exactly the most popular Role-Holder either. Not only would he have to figure out the parenting, but he would also need to be there very, very often, so that he might protect the child until it was old enough that it could handle itself.

However, there was one emotion that outweighed his apprehension.

He couldn't help but to feel excited. He'd seen young families in the towns. He'd watched mothers buying their daughters pretty hair ribbons, and fathers carrying their sons to see festivals. Of course, he'd heard that he could no longer be interesting or ferocious or have adventures when he was a parent but...

If he could bend the Rules of the Universe, he could break that one no problem. He liked the idea of taking a child on camping trips, teaching it how to hunt, or even just showing him or her his favored places in Wonderland.

In fact, he simply liked the image of Alice holding a baby that looked like him.

This, he could accept.

"Alice," He stated, walking up to her, "How far are you in?"

"The doctor estimated six weeks." He nodded, and wrapped his arms around her.

"So we only need to wait seven and a half months until we get to have a baby." He murmured.

Alice's world was no longer shattering.

/*\

Everyone who resided in the city around Jabberwocky Tower could not sleep that night period, for they could all hear the screaming. Their leader was in a great deal of pain, and many had an idea as to what was going on. Though no one had actually seen her for the past several months, her people were not dumb. They could put two and two together. The Dormouse was bringing twice the amount of groceries to the tower. The seamstress was making gowns for her again, getting ever larger in the stomach area. Then there was the fact that the Queen was visiting her more than ever, and for some reason, she had started bringing the Knave.

Today, they could also see that the Queen had made herself present. Just as she was stepping out the carriage, the Knave had launched himself out the other door, and dashed to the entrance of the tower.

It wasn't long until the screaming actually turned into words.

"_ACE, I HATE YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!_" A feminine voice wailed.

With a literally draconic mother, and a psychopath for a father, the entire community could agree on one thing.

It was fairly likely that this would be an exceedingly terrifying child.

/*\

When the noise had died down, and Alice was left merely panting on the bloodied sheets, her eyes starting to close in her exhaustion, the nurse approached with a swathed up blanket. The dragon's eyes focused, and too tired for words, simply held her hands out.

Ace, now allowing the doctor to bandage up his right hand and take care of his cracked ribs, watched, equally exhausted. In her pain, Alice had actually broken his hand with her own, when she squeezed just a little too hard. When she had released him, she'd actually wrapped her tail around his torso, and slammed him into a couple of different walls, all the time ranting on about how much she despised him and how it was all his fault that she was in so much pain.

"Hey Ace," She stated, looking down at the baby, "I'm sorry for all those vile things I said. I didn't mean them. It just really hurt." Then she let her eyes flicker to his and beckoned him over, "Come say hi to your daughter."

He would have been lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed. He had been hoping for a boy, so that he might be able to relate to his child a little more, but a girl was okay too. The doctor gave his approval for the Knave to stand, and he did so, repressing a hiss of pain as he moved over to his wife's side.

Right after she'd announced her pregnancy, he had paid off a priest in Heart Castle to marry them in secret. It had not mattered to Ace - life was so brief in Wonderland, that the people often did not bother with such time-consuming ceremonies, it wasn't that important - but he knew that she came from a culture where it was a serious taboo to have a child out of wedlock. If it made her more comfortable, then he didn't mind doing it. He had no intention of leaving, after all.

When the Knave of Hearts looked down into the woman's arms and saw the tiny face - whose eyes had already opened - he found he didn't care at all that it had not turned out to be a boy. It was exactly like the vision he'd had in mind. The little girl didn't look exactly like him, but she had gotten something. She stared up at her parents with a set of wide, wondering crimson eyes, and Ace realized something.

The Role had always demanded he be solitary. It was not a "hero's" privilege to have a wife or a child. That was something that belonged solely to the faceless citizenry that he so desperately wished he could be a part of again. It was not a Role-Holder's place to have such attachments.

Once again, he had defied the Role, but that wasn't the part that made him so overwhelmingly happy with this development. He felt normal, and though that in itself was an amazing enough thing, he also found himself falling in love again. However, unlike the love he had created her with, he silently promised something to the infant.

She would never see the psychopath she would hear of in the town and on the streets. She would always find confusion in other people's words when she compared them to what she saw. She would forever view the facade, and she would live happily and innocently and entirely unknowing of the darker points of the world she would grow up in. She would remain in ignorance until she was old enough to handle it, and even then, he might not even tell her the whole truth. Only the parts she would need to survive.

_Aramis Liddell_, he thought, when Alice handed the baby over to him, and he awkwardly held her in his arm. _May you never know how awful I really am._

However, he didn't need to hide so completely just yet, for the smile he gave her was entirely real.

**/*\**

**I wasn't expecting it to end that...serious. o.o But then, it turned out cheesy the other way. I'm not into that. But anyways, yes. My friend really, really liked this one-shot, so I told her I'd write another chapter for it. :3**

**-Static**


End file.
